Over the course of his career, he collected more gold and platinum albums than any other Australian artist.
Dusty not only recorded songs written by himself and other fellow Australian performers, but also recorded classic Australian poems by Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson with new tunes, to call attention to the old 'Bush Ballads.' An example is The Man from Snowy River by Paterson.
In 1970, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to music. In 1971 he won Best Single at the Australian Country Music Awards at the Tamworth Country Music Festival (Slim's wife Joy McKean won Song of the Year as writer of the song for which he won best single). In all, he won a record 35 "Golden Guitars" over the years.
He died at home in St Ives, New South Wales on 19 September 2003 after a protracted battle with cancer, at age 76.
The Slim Dusty Story started back in the 1940s on a remote dairy farm in the hills behind Kempsey, NSW, when a 10-year-old boy dreamed of being a country music singer. His name was David Gordon Kirkpatrick... he called himself "Slim Dusty" and began to live that dream.
But even the most optimistic farm boy would never have imagined the life that was to unfold... a life that would establish Slim as the voice of the nation, the chronicler of Australian history in song.
Slim managed to hold on to those early visions of writing and singing about the bush because during his lengthy career, he always stayed in touch with his audience. And he did this in a very real and meaningful way, so much so that his fans would feel that Slim was one of their mates and his songs "just a good yarn you might hear from a mate at the pub, around a campfire in the bush or at a back yard barbie".
He described his music as "songs about real Australians... "I have to be fair dinkum with my audience. I can't see any other way of doing it," he said. "You have to believe in what you are singing about."
Slim Dusty was the first Australian to have a number one hit record and the only Australian to ever receive a 78rpm Gold Record (for A Pub With No Beer in 1958)...
He was the first Australian to have an international record hit and the first singer in the world to have his voice beamed to earth from space (astronauts Bob Crippen and John Young played Slim's recording of Waltzing Matilda from the space shuttle "Columbia" as it passed over Australia back in 1983).
During an amazingly successful career spanning over six decades, Slims' continued popularity saw him rewarded with more Gold and Platinum Awards for sales of his singles, eight-tracks, cassettes, CD's, videos and DVDs... more than any other Australian artist!
He received an unequaled 37 Golden Guitar Awards, two ARIA's (Australian Recording Industry Association awards), inductions into the ARIA Hall of Fame and the Australian Country Music Roll of Renown.
Slim was recognized for his long time services to Australian entertainment with an MBE and an Order of Australia. In 1999, Prime Minister John Howard named Slim Dusty Australia's Father of the Year and Senior Australian of the Year. There were many other awards and honors... too many to name here!
Dusty died at his home in St Ives, New South Wales on 19 September 2003 at the age of 76, after a protracted battle with cancer.
The Brass Well
Slim Dusty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When he opened up the country and the early squatters came.
"Tis the old tale of a fortune missed by men who did not seek,
And, perhaps, you haven't heard it, The Brass Well on Myall Creek.
They were north of running rivers, they were south of Queensland rains,
And a blazing drought was scorching every grass-blade from the plains;
So the stockmen drove the cattle to the range where there was grass,
"Here's some bloomin' brass!" they muttered when they found it in the clay,
And they thought no more about it and in time they went away;
But they heard of gold, and saw it, somewhere down by Inverell,
And they felt and weighed it, crying: "Hell! we found it in the well!"
And they worked about the station and at times they took the track,
Always meaning to save money, always meaning to go back,
Always meanin, like the bushmen, who go drifting round like wrecks,
And they'd get half way to Myall, strike a pub and blow their cheques.
Then they told two more about it and those other two grew old,
And they never found the brass well and they never found the gold.
For the scrub grows dense and quickly and, though many went to seek,
No one ever struck the lost track to the Well on Myall Creek.
And the story is forgotten and I'm sitting here, alas!
With a woeful load of trouble and a woeful lack of brass;
But I dream at times that I might find what many went to seek,
That my luck might lead my footsteps to the Well on Myall Creek.
'Tis a legend of the bushmen from the days of Cunningham,
When he opened up the country and the early squatters came.
'Tis the old tale of a fortune missed by men who did not seek,
And, perhaps, you haven't heard it, The Brass Well on Myall Creek.
And, perhaps, you haven't heard it, The Brass Well on Myall Creek.
The lyrics of Slim Dusty's "The Brass Well" tell the tale of a group of bushmen who, during a drought, discover a valuable metal in a well they dug on the Myall Creek station. The bushmen eventually forget about their discovery and embark on various money-making schemes. Later in life, they hear of gold found around Inverell and realize the value of the metal they found in their well. However, they are unable to remember the location and eventually pass on without ever reclaiming their missed opportunity. The song acts as a cautionary tale for those who fail to act upon opportunities in life.
The song's vivid imagery of the harsh drought conditions and the dense bush around Myall Creek transport the listener to the Australian outback. The impact of the drought on the station and the discovery of valuable metal in the well depict a situation of hopelessness and despair, with the bushmen's failure to capitalize on their discovery serving to reinforce the sense of melancholy and missed opportunities.
Line by Line Meaning
'Tis a legend of the bushmen from the days of Cunningham,
It's a tale from the early days of Australian history when the bushland was being explored and settled by pioneers.
When he opened up the country and the early squatters came.
Refers to explorer Allan Cunningham who paved the way for early colonizers and that of pastoralists who followed him.
'Tis the old tale of a fortune missed by men who did not seek,
The song is about the missed opportunities by individuals who failed to capitalize on their fortunes.
And, perhaps, you haven't heard it, The Brass Well on Myall Creek.
The song talks about an obscure tale of the discovery of brass and gold in a well located in Myall Creek, which is not a well-known tale.
They were north of running rivers, they were south of Queensland rains,
The story details cattle drovers who were traveling on a drought-ridden plain, situated between running rivers to the north and rain in Queensland to the south of the area.
And a blazing drought was scorching every grass-blade from the plains;
The land had been stricken by drought and, as a result, had almost no grass left for cattle to graze on.
So the stockmen drove the cattle to the range where there was grass,
The stockmen in question decided to take their cattle to areas where they could graze without competition and find sufficient coverage for their herds.
And a couple sunk a well and found what they believed was brass.
While trying to find new well water sources for their cattle, a couple of stockmen stumbled onto what they believed to be a brass deposit.
"Here's some bloomin' brass!" they muttered when they found it in the clay,
The stockmen exclaimed when they discovered the brass in the earth.
And they thought no more about it and in time they went away;
The stockmen did not give much importance to their find and eventually went away without investigating it further.
But they heard of gold, and saw it, somewhere down by Inverell,
Later, they figured out that gold had been found in Inverell and realized their mutterings about the brass deposit could lead to great riches.
And they felt and weighed it, crying: "Hell! we found it in the well!"
Upon discovering that the metal they found was, in fact, gold, they realized that they had found it in the same well where they had unearthed the brass.
And they worked about the station and at times they took the track,
Even after discovering the value of the metal, the stockmen continued to work on the stations and occasionally took the track to find more gold.
Always meaning to save money, always meaning to go back,
Despite finding the gold deposit, they never went back to investigate the well further and make the most out of their discovery.
Always meanin', like the bushmen, who go drifting round like wrecks,
The stockmen, like many other drifters in the outback, remained aimless and never really settled down to explore or make the most of what they had found.
And they'd get half way to Myall, strike a pub and blow their cheques.
Whenever they tried to return to Myall Creek, they would get sidetracked and end up spending their money at a pub instead of investing it in their well finding venture.
Then they told two more about it and those other two grew old,
The stockmen told a couple more about their discovery, but nothing came out of it, and those people eventually grew old.
And they never found the brass well and they never found the gold.
In the end, nobody could locate the well where the brass and gold was supposedly found.
For the scrub grows dense and quickly and, though many went to seek,
The dense shrubbery around the creek grew quickly and aggressively, making it difficult for people to find the well they had been looking for.
No one ever struck the lost track to the Well on Myall Creek.
Despite numerous attempts to find the well, the track and location of the Well on Myall Creek has always remained hidden and untraceable.
And the story is forgotten and I'm sitting here, alas!
The story of the brass well and the possibility of finding gold is now mostly forgotten and brushed aside as a folktale from yesteryears.
With a woeful load of trouble and a woeful lack of brass;
The singer is expressing his present-day troubles and his lack of prospects for a better future.
But I dream at times that I might find what many went to seek,
Despite the lost tale and history, the singer still dreams that maybe one day he will find the lost treasure in the brass well at Myall Creek.
That my luck might lead my footsteps to the Well on Myall Creek.
The singer hopes that his fortuitousness will guide his steps directly to the site of the brass well and the fortune hidden away in it.
Contributed by Ellie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sandra
on One Truckie's Epitaph
My brother Terry Radke was the man Slim wrote the song for after he received a letter from Terry's youngest son, Lync. Thank you
Charley Boyter
on Axe Mark On a Gidgee
With horsebells to keep me company
Jake
on Your Country's Been Sold
You say you belong to Australia my friend
And rightly you’d die for this land to defend
But let us be honest, it’s sad but it’s true
Australia my friend doesn’t belong to you
Our country’s been sold by the powers that be
To big wealthy nations way over the sea
We couldn’t be taken by bayonets or lead
And so they decided to buy us instead
And talking of wars and the blood that was spilled
The widows, the crippled, the ones that were killed
And I often wonder if their ghosts can see
What’s happening now to their native country
I wonder if ghosts of the fallen can see
The crime and corruption and vast poverty
With a lost generation of youth on the dole
Who drift on life’s ocean without any goal
I once had a dream of our country so grand
The rivers outback irrigated the land
With towns and canals in that wasteland out there
And big inland cities with work everywhere
With profit from farming and factory and mine
Was used to develop a nation so fine
Then I woke from my dream into reality
That the wealth of our nation goes over the sea
Yeah you say you belong to Australia my friend
And rightly you’d die for this land to defend
But let us be honest, it’s sad but it’s true
Australia my friend doesn’t belong to you